Wall closet



June 10, 1924. 1,497,171,

P. HAAS WALL CLOSET Filed Nov. 14, 192] 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 jama 10, 1924 1,497,171 P. HAAS WALL CLOSET Filed 'n v. 14. 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented June 10, 1%24.

PHILIP I-IAAS, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

'tVALL CLOSET.

Application fi1ed Novenibel To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, PHILIP FAAs, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at- Dayton, in the county of llflontgomery and State of Ohio. have invented certain new and useful Improvements in all Closets; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described, reference heingi' had to the accompanying drawings which show one embodiment of my invention, selected by me for purposes of illustration, and the said invention is fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

In the evolution of bathroom or toilet fixtures, it has become desirable for aesthetic,

as well as sanitary, reasons to employ what are termed wall closets, in which the water closet bowl is supported entirely above the floor and all the pipe connections therefrom are carried into the wall and are concealed In the installation of these wall therein. closets a number of problems have pre sented themselves. In the first place, the howl must be adequately supported so as to withstand consideraole weight, without becoming loose or injuring the wall, or bend- I ing, or loosening the pipe connections. Again, variations occur in the thickness of walls in which these closets are installed in different houses or buildings, and the eX- terior finish of the wall varies according to whether it is finished with plaster suitably decorated, or tiling, or otherwise. Moreover the pipe fittings are usually installed suitably in advance of the plaster work and decorations. while the interior fixtures, such as these wall closets, are installed after the walls have been plastered or tiled, and the exact location of the outer surface of the finished wall is not accurately determined at the time the soil pipes and other pipe connections are installed in the building. Again. in the installation of the vertical soil pipes. for example, slight inaccuracies in the workmanship or in the placing of the closet apertures may readily occur, which 14, 1821. Serial No. 514,952.

would cause the closets to set inaccurately with respect to the wall, unless suitable provisions were made to compensate for the same, as it is of importance to the finish ofthe closetthat the wall engaging portion of the bowl should fitaccurately against the exterior surface of the wall and that the bowlbe maintained exactly true. 7

' The object of my invention is to provide means forsupporting wall closet bowls from the soil pipe itself and at the same time to provide means for compensating forvariations in the thickness of walls in different buildings where these devices are installed,

and further to compensate forany irregularit-ies or inaccuracies in the workmanship,

in installing the supporting soil pipe line,

so that under all circumstances the bowl may be accurately supported in proper position. and-with its wall engaging face in absolute alignment with and in contact with the exterior surface of the wall however it may be finished. It is to be further noted that in installing these wallclosets the connections which support the porcelain bowl are also relied upontotightenthe joint hetween the discharge passage of the how d the soil pipe, which joint isentirely con cealed within the porcelain bowl, auditis dii'licult forthe workmanto ascertain that the joint or connection with the soil pipe is tight when he tightensup the supoorting devices; and if it should not he tght,

leakage and serious injury to: the building might result. i

My invention. also contemplates the en ployment of a test plate having portions for engaging the devices which support the bowl, and means for compressing and tight ening the connection with the soil pipe actly correspondingto the corresponding parts of the bowl, the plate forming a temporary closure for the bowl connection ofthe soil pipe and its use enabling the operator to ascertain definitelywhether or not the pipe connection will he tight when the bowl is in place and drawn up to the fullest extent by the bowl securing devices, and also whether or not the rear face of the bowl will be exactly flush with the wall. The use of this plate also enables the preliminary testing of the soil pipe line by filling it with water in advance of the installation of the closet bowl and also permitting one or more of the bowls to be in-' stalled in the building for use during the completion of the building, or otherwise without installing the entire number re quired for the building, where this is de sirable.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 represents a front view of a wall. closet and its supporting soil pipe section, the wall of the building being broken away to show the vertical studs and the means for, supporting the upper end of the soil pipe section to which the bowl is connected.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, partly in section.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of my improved bowl supporting soil pipe section.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal section showing the soil pipe and its connection with the bowl, the latter being broken away.

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing a modified construction in which the compensating spacing rings are employed to compensate for variations in the thickness of the wall.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing a compensating ring of varying thickness for compensating for inaccuracies in the position of the soil pipe.

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the test plate and temporary closure.

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view of the same.

Fig. 9 is a detail sectional View of one of the compensating rings.

Fig. 10 is a plan view showing the test plate applied to and closing the aperture in the soil pipe, one spacing ring and one compensating ring being shown, parts of the wall and of the soil pipe being shown in section.

Fig. 11 is a sectional View similar to Fig. 6, showing the parts illustrated in Fig. 10.

In carrying out my invention I employ a special soil pipe section, indicated at 1, which is provided at its opposite ends with suitable means for engaging adjacent pipe sections forming portions of the soil pipe line of the building. In the present instance the upper end of the soil pipe is provided with a bell. 2 and the lower end with the usual spigot 3 for fitting the bell of an adjacent section. At some point between its ends the soil pipe is provided with a lateral aperture, indicated at 4-, surrounded by an attaching flange, indicated at 5, which as shown is provided with a plurality of bowl supporting devices, in this instance, threaded studs 6, preferably of brass, which are conveniently threaded. throughout their length and screwed into threaded apertures in the flange 5, as shown. The front face of the flange 5 is also provided with a packing rect the of the aperture 4 and into the aperli s :1 are screwed sections of pipe, 1nd1- cated at 10, of suitable diameter, passed through the aperture in the stud provided for that purpose. One of the studs 8 is shown partly in section to illustrate the aperture, indicated at 11, through which the adjacent pipe section 10 passes. If it is desired, one or both of the pipe sections 10 may be connected by T 12 with a vertical pipe line, indicated at 13, forming part of the ventilating system for the closet trap, and other traps in the building, and the other pipe section 10 may be closed by a suitable cap, as indicated at 1 1, or if desired, both pipes 10 may be capped, their main function being to support the upper end of the pipe section 1 at a considerable distance above the bowl so as to anchor the upper end of the pipe section and prevent the bowl from tipping forward when exposed to considerable weight or pressure. As the lower end of the soil pipe section 1 is firmly supported in the bell end of the adjacent lower section, the pipe section 1 installed in the manner indicated in Fig. 1, in connection with the studding or other parts of the wall, will form a very stable and unyielding support for the bowl. ll do not limit myself to the exact construction illustrated in Fig. 1, as for example, it is obvious that 1 may employ in place of the pipe sections 10, solid bars or arms screwed into threaded apertures in the pipe section 1 or otherwise rigidly attached thereto to form the laterally extending anchoring arms for the upper end of the pipe section, and these anchoring arms however made may be otherwise rigidly supported in the wall structure, but in practice I find it extremely convenient to employ the short pipe sections 10 in the manner shown and to anchor them to the wall by simply passing them through suitable apertures in the studding with which the wall will be usually provided. The essential feature of thi portion of my invention is the provision of anchoring means for the pipe section, for rigidly securing it to the wall of the building a point considerably above the point of attachment of the bowl or wall closet.

The closet bowl illustrated at 15, provided with the usual seat 16, and cover 17, is proh he usual discharge aperture, in-

" 18, siuirounding which the bowl ovi v' i an attaching flange 19, the

rear race of which is adapted to lit flush the pipe section 1.

with the face of the wall. In Fig. 4 for example, I have shown, in horizontal section, a simple means of connecting the bowl to the soil pipe section 1, when the soil pipe has been accurately placed in position, and a very thin wall coating is employed, the exterior of the wall surface being substantially flush with the outer. face of the flange 5 of For effecting the connection between the closet bowl and the lateral discharge aperture L of the soil pipe section, I prefer to employ a connecting sleeve, preferably of brass, indicated at 20, which is plain or unthreaded and is provided with a flange 21 engaging the bottom of the packing recess 7, and being of less width than the packing recess, a packing ring, indicated at 22, being employed between the packing recess 7 and a corresponding packing recess, indicated at 23, in the porcelain bowl surrounding the aperture 18 therein. I

This connection in its simplest form is illustrated in Fig. 4 of the acconnpanying drawing on an enlarged scale, and is the construction I prefer to use where the thickness of the wall. and he relation of the soil pipe to the outer surfaceof the wall is as shown in Fig. 4, that is to say, substantially true and flush with the base of the coupling flange 5 surrounding the aperture l in the soil pipe.

Where the surface of the wall extends be rond the surface of the flange 5, by reason of the additional tiickness of the plastic coating, or by reason of the use of tiling, or by reason of the fact that the soil pipe has been located a little too far away from the plane of the outer surface of the wall. orfor any other reason, I may employ the construction illustrated in Fig. 5. In this case I employ the coupling sleeve 20. but instead of placing the flange 21 against the rear face of the packing recess, as shown in Fig. 4, the sleeve is preferably reversed and a packing ring 22" is interposed between the bevel face of the flange 21 and the packing recess 7. .I then place around the sleeve one or more spacing rings 24. as shown in Fig. 5, engaging the flange 21, a sutiicient number of spacing rings of the required thickness, or a single ring of the required thickness being employed to bring the rear face of the closet bowl flush with the outer face of the wall and a packing ring 22 between the spacing rings and the packing recess 23 in thebowl. The spacing rings 24 are preferably soldered or brazed tothe sleeve after the required thickness has been determined, as hereinafter described.

In Fig. 6 I have shown another view of this connection between the soil pipe and the bowl, especially designed to illustrate a situation which often arises, in which there is was made for that purpose.

a slight inaccuracy in the setting of the soil pipe so that the outer, face of the coupling flange 5 thereof is not parallel with the.

i s on in Fig. 6. These compensating spacl n D si .e faces are disposed at an angle to each other, making the ring of varying thickness throughout its annular extent. One of these rings is shown in detail in Fig. 9, and I may employ more than one if necessary. It will be obvious that by placing one or more of these compensating rings around the sleeve 20, as shown in Fig. 6, and adjusting it, or them,annularly,the variation due to the inaccurate setting of the soil pipe can be readily compensated. for sothat when the packing rings are drawn up tight,the closet bowl will have its rear face brought flush against the wall, notwithstanding the angular position of the sleeve with respect thereto. The compensating ring or rings 25 may be used with or without one or more of the ordinary spacing rings 24 according to the situation, in which this connection is made, and after the exact position of the compensating rings is determined, the compensating and spacing rings are preferably soldered to the sleeve 20.

It will be readily understood that as the packing ring in the porcelain bowl, indicated at 23, is entirely out of sight when the bowl is in place a 'ainst the wall, it will be extremely difficult for anyone installing one of these wall closetsto know whether the joint was sufficiently tight when. the bowl had been drawn back by the threaded connection before described, sutliciently far to bring the rear face of the bowl against the wall. Obviously the bowl could not be drawn back any further, and if the joint should not be tight, there would be leakage as soon as the water passed through the joint from the bowl to the soil pipe, which might result in serious injury to the building. I have. therefore, for the purpose'of meeting this ditliculty, and for other purposes hereinafter referred to. devised a test plate, one embodiment of which is illustrated in Fig. 7 of the accompanying drawings, which will enable an operator in installing these water closets to ascertain before hand whether the joint will be tight when the bowl is drawn to its final position. and is flush with and 'ainst the wall. This plate, indicated at 26. is provided with a central portion 27', which forms a closure forthe aperture 4 rings are so constructed that their oppo Cir plate 26 extends for the most part only a little ways beyond the outer periphery of the recess 28 but is provided with extensions 25) having oval bolt holes 30 therein, and

bosses 31 surrounding the bolt holes, the

thickness of the plate at the bosses being the same as the thickness of the porcelain flange 19 of the bowl through which the threaded attaching bolts or screws extend. The plate 26 therefore presents in its rear face and its thickness at the bosses, a reproduction of the corresponding portions of the bowl, but it extends only a short distance from the sleeve, it permits of the ebseiwation of the parts which form the joint.

After the sleeve 20 is placed in position, the test plate can be applied to the threaded connections and the operator will be able to judge as to the thickness of such spacing rings or compensating rings as may be necessary to make the joint tight, when the rear face of the plate is brought flush with the wall. If necessary the adjacent portions of the wall immediately surrounding the parts can be cut away sufficiently to enable the opb erator to thoroughly inspect the joint, as the surrounding portions of the wall are to be afterwards completely covered and con cealed by the broad rear liar of the closet bowl. The operator will then proceed ap- 1 m such s )acin rin or rin 's and com-- pensating ring or rings as may be required, placing the packing rings 22 and 23 in position and adjusting the compensating ring or rings in a circular direction with respect to the sleeve 20, and if necessary with respect to each other, until it appears that when the joint is made tight, the rear face of the plate will be brought against the surface of the wall and in perfect parallelism therewith, notwithstanding any inaccuracy or angularity of the flange 5 of the soil pipe. It is not necessary, however, to leave this matter to conjecture, as the operator can draw up the bolts tight, thereby making a tight joint between the pipe and the test plate, and closing the opening 4- of the soil pipe. It can then be absolutely determined whether or not the rear face of the plate is flush with the wall, and it can also be determined whether or not the joint is tight, because by placing these test plates in all the openings l of the soil pipe, intended for different wall closets, the pipe may be filled with water and it can be ascertained positively whether or not the joints are tight. If any oint leaks even slightly, the joint can be separated by the removal of the threaded connection and the test plate and the spacing or compensating rings changed or further adjusted to secure the desired result. If, as

may frequently happen, a considerable space exists between the rear face of the test plate and the flange 5 on the soil pipe, I prefer to provide washers of fibre or metal surrounding the threaded connections illustrated in Fig. 10 at 32, a sufficient number of washers being provided for each of the threaded connections to completely bridge these spaces. After the exact adjustment of the app-a atus necessary to produce a tight joint have been determined by the use of the test plate, and when it is desired to install the closet bowl, it is only necessary to remove the test plate, and after soldering the spacing and compensating rings to the sleeve 20 in the exact positions to which they have been adjusted, and replacing the parts in exactly the same position, which can be readily accomplished by marking the various parts before disassembling the joint, the closet bowl is placed in position and the threaded connections are drawn up, this time clamping the closet bowl in position, and when the threaded connections have been tightened so as to bring the rear face of the bowl against the wall in the same position occupied by the rear face of the plate 26, the operator will know that the joint is tight. In this connection it is to be noted that the washers 32 will assist the operator in accinfately setting the porcelain bowl, as they will prevent him from drawing the nuts or threaded connections down beyond the point permitted by the washers, thus preventing tilting the bowl sideways or putting too great a strain at one point before applying the strain at the other points of connection, which might otherwise occur, and which might result in making the joint imperfect, and also in cracking the porcelain.

t is also to be noted that the oval shaped or elongated bolt holes 30 in the test plate will allow for lateral and angular move ment of the plate with respect to the threaded connections when the test plate is used to ascertain approximately the position which the rear face of the bowl will occupy and the distance to be tilled by the spacing rings or compensating rings, or both.

The use of the test plate 26 also Serves a further purpose in the installation of these closet bowls. Where the soil pipe line has been installed and the walls completed, as is customary before the installation of the closet bowls, the apertures 4 in the soil pipe at various points in the buildin can be closed by means of these test plates, in the manner before described, and if it is desired to install one of the bowls at some point for temporary or immediate use, any one of these plates can be removed and the bowl. installed, without installing the other bowls, and the entire system can be operatively employed temporarily, as during finishing of the building, the remaining bowls to be placed in position at a later date when the interior work has progressed.

It will be seen that in employing the construction herein shown and described, the weight of the bowl and all strains applied thereto will be directly sustained by the soil pipe through the attaching bolts 6 and spacing devices-or washers 32, without the possibility of having any strain exerted either upon the wall or upon the sleeve 20, and its packing which make the connection between the pipe and bowl watertight. This is possible by reason of the use of a plain unthreaded sleeve (20) and its packing rings and differential spacing devices which permit these parts to be so arranged as to be brought intowater-tight condition by the screwing up of the bolts 6 which bring the bowl to its final position flush with the wall but supported independently of it from the soil pipe through the intermediate spacing means between the attaching flanges, otthe pipe and bowl, while" the water connections are entirely relieved of strain. N

VVhat I claim'and desire to secure by Letters P'atent is:

. l. In a device of the kind described, the combination with a bowl supporting soil pipe section having a lateral aperture, and provided with a vertically disposed attaching flange, and an annular packing recess in the face of said flange, surrounding said aperture, of a wall closet provided with an outletlaperture adapted to register with the lateral aperture in the soil pipe, and having an annular packing recess surrounding said aperture and an attaching flange, an unthreaded sleeve extending through said registering apertures of the pipe and bowl, annularly disposed packing material extending around the exterior of: said sleeve, intermediate its ends for effecting a tight joint between said pipe bowl and sleeve, threaded devices connecting the attaching flangeslof said pipe section and bowl, and spacing devices between said attaching flanges. p p v In a device .of the kind described the combination with a bowl supporting soil pipe section having a lateral aperture, and provided with a vertically disposed attaching flange, and an annular packing recess inthe face of said flange, surrounding said aperture, of a wall closet provided with an outlet aperture adapted" to register with the lateral aperture in the soil pipe, and having an annular packing recess surrounding said aperture and an attaching flange, anlunthreaded sleeve extending through said registeringapertures of the pipeand bowl, annularly disposed packing material extending around the exterior of said sleeve, interthe construction or mediate its ends for effecting a tight joint between said pipe bowl and sleeve, said sleeve being provided'on its exterior between its ends with an outwardly extending packing engaging flange, threaded connecting devices engaging the' attaching flanges of the soil pipe and bowl, and spacing devices between said attachin'gflangesj,

3. In a device of the kind described the combination with a bowl supporting soil pipe section having a lateral aperture and provided with a vertically disposed attaching flange, and an annular packing recess in the face of said flange, surrounding said aperture of a wall closet provided with an outlet aperture adapted to register with the lateral aperture in the soil pipe, and having an annular packing recess surround ing said aperture and an attaching'flange, an unthreaded sleeve extending through said registering apertures of the pipe and bowl, said sleeve being providedon itsexterior with an annular packing engaging flan e an annular a-ckin rin surroundin e P r said sleeve and interposed between saidjanjnular flange and the packing recess in said attaching flange on the soilpipe, an annular packing ring engaging the packing recess of the bowl, said ring surrounding the said sleeve and being located between the bowl and the annular'flange on said sleeve, threaded connecting devices engaging the attaching flanges of said pipe and bowl, and spacing devices between said attaching flanges. y

4:. In a device of the kind described the combination with a bowl supporting soil pipe section having a lateral apertu'reand provided with a vertically disposed attachi'ng flange. and an annular packing recess in the face of said flange, surrounding said aperture, of a wall closet provided with an outlet aperture adapted to register with the lateral aperture in the soil pipe, and having an annularpacking recess surrounding said aperture and an attaching flange, an unthreaded sleeve extending through said registering apertures of the pipe and bowl,.-said sleeve being provided on its exterior with an annular packing engaging flange, an annular packing ring surrounding said sleeve and interposed between said annular flange and the packing recess in said attaching flange on the soil pipe, a spacing ring surpipe section having a lateral aperture and provided with a vertically disposed attaching flange, and an annular packing recess in the face of said flange, surrounding said aperture, of a wall closet provided with an outlet aperture adapted to register with the lateral aperture in the soil pipe, and having an annular packing recess surrounding said aperture and an attaching flange, an unthreaded sleeve extending through said registering apertures of the pipe and bowl. said sleeve being provided on its exterior with an annular packing engaging flange, an annular packing ring surrounding said sleeve and interposed between said annular flange, and the packing recess in said attaching flange on the soil pipe, a spacing ring surrounding said sleeve, and located between the said annular flange and the bowl, said spacing ring having its opposite faces located in planes at an angle to each other, a packing ring in the packing recess of the bowl, surrounding said sleeve, and located between the bowl and said spacing ring, threaded devices connecting the attaching flanges of said pipe and bowl, and spacing devices between saidattaching flanges;

6. in a device of the kind described the combination with a bowl supporting soil pipe section having a lateral aperture and provided with a vertically disposed attaching flange, and an annular packing recess in the face of said flange, surrounding said aperture, of a wall closet provided with an outlet aperture adapted to register with the lateral aperture in the soil pipe, and having an annular packingrecess surroundingsaid aperture and an attaching flange, an unthreaded sleeve extending through said reg istering apertures of the pipe and bowl, said sleeve being provided on its exterior with an annularpacking engaging flange, an annular packing ring surrounding said sleeve. and interposedbetween said annular flange and the packing recess in said attaching flange on the soil pipe, a plurality of spacing rings surrounding said sleeve, and located between said annular flange and the bowl, certain of said spacing rings having their opposite faces lying'in planes at an angle to each other, a packing ring surrounding said sleeve, located in the packing recess of said bowl, and between said pack ing recess of said spacing rings, threaded devices for connecting the attaching flanges of said pipe and bowl, and spacing devices between said attaching flanges.

7. In a device of the kind described the combination with a vertically supported soil pipe provided with a lateral aperture having a horizontal axis, said pipe being provided with avertically disposed attaching flange, formed integrally therewith surrounding said pipe apertureand provided on its face with an annular packing recess concentric with said aperture, of a bowl provided with a discharge aperture adapted to register with the aperture in the soil pipe, a packing recess surrounding said aperture and an attaching flange surrounding said aperture, a plain unthreaded sleeve having its end portions engaging the apertures of said soil pipe and bowl and provided exteriorly with an annular flange, a packing ring in the packing recess of the soil pipe, surrounding the ring on one side of the said annular flange, a packing ring located in the packing recess of the bowl, surrounding the said sleeve, on the opposite side of said annular flange, and bolts and nuts connecting the attaching flanges of said soil pipe and bowl, and spacing washers between the said at taching flanges located around said bolts for relieving the wall and said sleeve from strain.

8. In a device of the kind described, the combination with a bowl supporting soil pipe section, provided with alateral aperture, a connecting flange surrounding the same, and threaded connections connected with said flange, of a wall closet provided with an outlet aperture adapted to register with the lateral aperture inv the soil pipe section, and having an attaching flange surrounding said aperture and provided with apertures for said threaded connections, a connecting sleeve fitting said apertures, packing rings for said sleeve, and a closing plate having a central portion fitting said sleeve, and lateral flange portions provided with apertures for the passage of said threaded connections, said plate having its rear face, and said flange portions, corresponding with the corresponding portions of the bowl, whereby said plate can be used as a test plate to ascertain the exact posi-' tion of the rear face of the how] when in place, and for temporarily closing the bowl engaging aperture in the soil pipe section.

In a device of the kind described, the combination with a bowl supporting soil pipe section, provided with a lateral aperture, a connecting flange surrounding the same, and threaded connections connected with said flange, of a wall closet provided with an outlet aperture adapted to register with the lateral aperture in the soil pipe section, and having an attaching flange surrounding said aperture and provided with apertures for said threaded connections, a connecting sleeve fitting said apertures, packing rings for said sleeve, and a closing plate having a central portion for engaging the sleeve and one of said packing rings, and lateral flange portions provided with radial slots for engaging the said threaded connections, spacing rings on said sleeve, certain of said rings having their ice opposite faces disposed at an angle to each other, spacing washers on said threaded con nections and nuts for engaging the same, said plate having its rear face and said flange portions corresponding with the rear portion of the bowl, whereby said plate may be employed to close said lateral bowl engaging aperture of the soil pipe section, and may be used as a test plate to insure the alignment of the rear face of the bowl with the wall. I a

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

PHILIP HAAS. 

